Survey: Persistent challenges in field-marketing collaboration

The industry has made progress in omnichannel engagement. But for many organizations, the result has been pilots that never scaled to true implementations. Barriers around technology, silos and organizational structure got in the way, many of which still exist. 

A disconnect still remains between two pivotal players at most companies: marketing and the field. Activity may be frequent, but insight does not always translate into meaningful results. Closing that gap is the defining challenge and opportunity for pharma today. 

To understand where leaders should focus next, we went directly to the executives navigating these challenges. Drawing on omnichannel engagement survey data from Q1 2026, this research report examines where coordination between marketing and the field is falling short, what’s driving the disconnect and what leaders say would help teams act on insight more effectively.

When asked what’s getting in the way of success, leaders most commonly cited four limitations: limited ability to act on insights in real time; data fragmented across systems; difficulty coordinating digital and sales efforts; and organizational or process constraints.

Who did we survey?

Dive deeper on these gaps and opportunities for improving field-marketing coordination by reading the report, with findings based on an online omnichannel engagement survey conducted by BioPharma Dive on our behalf. It includes data drawn from responses from 151 senior-level executives in the industry, including 55% from pharmaceutical companies and 45% from biotech companies. These respondents work at small (45%), mid-sized (34%), and large (21%) companies and were concentrated in vice president and director-level leadership across marketing and commercial functions.

What’s in the report:

• Why omnichannel has hit its limits and why 86% of executives said they were looking to optichannel instead.
• What’s keeping marketing and sales coordination stuck at “somewhat effective”
• Why data is reaching teams but not driving decisions, and what each side says it’s missing.
• The four things leaders need to do, from breaking down silos to bringing in AI.